In 2021-22 Stefano Pioli’s AC Milan stunned Serie A by dethroning city rivals Inter as champions with a fantastic finish to the domestic campaign.
Before the start of that season it felt like it would be a long time before Milan made a return to former glories. Yet by the end Milan’s technical director at the time Paolo Maldini declared: “We are here, because we always believed.”
Fast forward 12 months and it’s a very different picture at the San Siro. The Rossoneri offered a lacklustre defence of their title in the league, finishing fourth a massive 20 points behind eventual winners Napoli.
Defeats in the round of 16 and final of the domestic cup competitions, and dismaying losses in both legs of the Milan derby Champions League semi-final rounded off an underwhelming campaign.
Revolution begins
Maldini – who had proclaimed the arrival of this new look side just a year earlier – was given his marching orders along with sporting director Ricky Massara. While this makes for uneasy reading, Milan fans shouldn’t be too disheartened.
There has been some trouble brewing behind the scenes as of late, but the club is in a much better position now than it was before Maldini and Massara arrived.
The duo were tasked with cleaning up the mess left behind by the previous owners and did well to relieve some of the financial burden the club was under.
They’ve now left the club in a better position than when they came in, creating a title-winning side on a shoestring budget; something they are likely going to have to do again in 2023/24.
Due to that limited budget, the club will not enter the 2023/24 campaign as favourites to claim another Scudetto so here’s a look at what went wrong and what the club need to do this summer to compete for the Serie A title once again.
Club owner Gerry Cardinale clearly has a vision for the future and seems determined to stay the course with it. The reason why Maldini and Massara were giving the boot ultimately comes down to the fact they do not agree with that vision.
Major changes are occurring behind the scenes at the San Siro and after a tense meeting between Cardinale and the two directors, the hurdle of which direction to go proved too big a hurdle to clear.
In that context, the decision hardly seems like a controversial one but the manner in which the events happened is what has been unsettling for fans, players and coaching staff.
There had been murmurings of disagreements after nothing was mentioned of Maldini’s position at the club beyond the expiration of his contract in 2024, but how quickly the action was taken was a surprise to everyone.
The directors had been in charge of transfers and negotiating contracts, but debate regarding recruitment and investment in new players – namely the limited budget of €50m and the contract negotiations of superstar Rafael Leao – is said to have strained the relationship beyond repair.
Issues in that department are said to stretch back to 2019 when Furlani and former chief executive Ivan Gazidis spoke with Ralf Rangnick about becoming the club’s new manager, with Maldini and ex-CFO Zvonimir Boban opposing that decision, leading to the latter leaving the club altogether.
The decision has left a number of players upset and showcasing their feelings on the decision to sack Maldini and Massara, Leao himself going as far to insinuate he would not have signed a new deal had he known Maldini was heading for the exit.
Looking ahead
However, what’s done is done and the club will have to move on quickly if they are to make a positive start to their preparations for next season.
With that said, the most important piece of business this summer is already done: signing Leao to a new deal at the San Siro. Online sportsbooks have AC Milan as +900 to win the Scudetto next season and those odds would be a lot worse without Leao.
The Portuguese international’s form last season was nothing short of sensational. In his third season in Italy, the 23-year-old helped Milan conquer the Scudetto for the first time in 11 years, was voted Serie A’s most valuable player, ranked 14th place in the Ballon d’Or voting, and he hit double figures for both goals and assists in the league.
He makes a significant difference to the team’s fortunes when on the pitch and if not for a poorly timed injury before the Milan derby in the Champions League semi-final, there’s a good chance it would have been Milan heading for Istanbul instead of Inter.
His 16 goals and 15 assists in 48 appearances this season may look like some decent returns for a player of his quality, but his contributions to Milan’s play in general are what make him stand out from his teammates.
He breezes past defenders and if he continues to produce stellar performances, he will enter the category of ‘world-class’ sooner rather than later.
Need for help
Elsewhere on the pitch, Milan will be looking for a striker to help improve their goal tally next season. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired, the search is underway to find someone who can fill his legendary boots.
Olivier Giroud can still produce but the Frenchman is now 36 years old and shouldn’t be relied on to produce a fair share of the team’s goals.
On the other hand, Charles De Ketelaere is a youngster trying to find his feet, but simply put his performances haven’t been good enough. Zero goals is not an ideal return and he will either need to improve or face a long spell on the sidelines.
Folarin Balogun is rumoured to be the favoured option with an impressive 17 goals in Ligue 1 last season. Also on the priority list is a defender.
With Theo Hernandez making his discontent with his current situation clear, Milan have been making moves for Norwich City defender Andrew Omobamidele. The 20-year-old’s reported fee of £15m shows how highly the Rossonerri value the defender and should he sign hopefully he can deliver on that high praise.
The club are also in talks with Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, hoping to capitalise on the London club’s poor Premier League campaign by offering a route into Europe for the 27-year-old.
There is a lot of work to be done this summer and not much money to do it with unfortunately, but if they can scramble amongst the turmoil, and pull off what they have over the last few transfer windows to patch up key areas of the team, then they’re in with an outside chance of claiming a second Scudetto in three years.
